"Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world,
then it can only happen through music." – Jimi Hendrix
then it can only happen through music." – Jimi Hendrix
With my continuing love of all things English, I have discovered yet another amazing singer/songwriter from our former overlords: Sam Smith. Yes, again I'm a little behind the rest of the world when it comes to discovering this talented 22-year old musician. 22?!?!? Gah! I have t-shirts older than that! I "discovered" Sam this morning on The Today Show when he performed "Stay With Me" and "I'm Not the Only One" (video).
Sam Smith was born in London, England and "rose to fame in October 2012 when he was featured on Disclosure's breakthrough single "Latch", which peaked at number 11 on the UK Singles Chart. His subsequent feature -- on Naughty Boy's "La La La" -- earned him his first number 1 single in May 2013. In December 2013, he was nominated for the 2014 BRIT Critics' Choice Award and the BBC's Sound of 2014 poll, both of which he won. He released his debut studio album, In the Lonely Hour, in May 2014 on Capitol Records. The lead single, "Lay Me Down", was released prior to "La La La". The second single was "Money on My Mind". The album's third single "Stay with Me" was an international success, peaking atop both the UK Singles chart and the U.S. Billboard Pop Songs chart (along with the Adult Contemporary, Adult Pop Songs and Radio Songs charts); it also reached number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart" (Wikipedia).
After hearing this young man sing, I immediately purchased his debut album, In the Lonely Hour (Deluxe version) and listened to it obsessively all morning. (Yes, I don't have much else to do these days.) According to Smith, this album was inspired by loneliness and heartbreak, therefore it's unsurprising that I would connect deeply with this album. Here's what you can find on the album:
The catchy "Money On My Mind" (video; lyrics) is a perfect album opener and lead-up to the other songs, like the drenched in ‘60s strings and acoustic flutters "Good Thing" (video; lyrics). The gospel-tinged hit song "Stay With Me" (video; lyrics) shows some classic soul piano balladry, as Smith tugs at your heartstrings while he sings over sweeping strings and reverberant piano chords: "This ain’t love it’s clear to see, But darling stay with me". This is followed by the acoustic ballad "Leave Your Lover" (video; lyrics), a strings and light guitar plucks-infused track about being unlucky in love.
Then we segue into the country-soul of "I'm Not The Only One", before moving on to "I've Told You Now" (video; lyrics), another ballad about unrequited love. The anthemic pop track "Like I Can" (video; lyrics) is a more modern sounding song, as is the strings and piano-laced ballad "Life Support" (video; lyrics). Then we come to another country-soul song, "Not in That Way", before moving on to the gospel-ish "Lay Me Down" (video; lyrics), a piano-led ballad that starts slowly as Smith pours out his heart to his love, but builds up to an explosive, string-drenched finale. His live performance of this song on SNL is mindblowing (video)!
The up-tempo, very '80s disco-ish "Restart" (video; lyrics) is followed by "Latch" (video; lyrics), an acoustic version of the Disclosure song that was their breakthrough hit in 2013 and on which Sam was guest-vocalist. Then he closes the album with the Naughty Boy’s number one infectious summer hit "La La La" (video; lyrics) on which Sam was also a collaborative vocalist and "Make It To Me" (video; lyrics), a powerful piano-ballad about looking for a soul-mate: “You’re the one designed for me, A distant stranger that I will complete.”
This debut-album is filled with the kind of pop that is likely to dominate the charts for a while, as these tracks will appeal to a wide range of music lovers. Fully recommended!
Then we segue into the country-soul of "I'm Not The Only One", before moving on to "I've Told You Now" (video; lyrics), another ballad about unrequited love. The anthemic pop track "Like I Can" (video; lyrics) is a more modern sounding song, as is the strings and piano-laced ballad "Life Support" (video; lyrics). Then we come to another country-soul song, "Not in That Way", before moving on to the gospel-ish "Lay Me Down" (video; lyrics), a piano-led ballad that starts slowly as Smith pours out his heart to his love, but builds up to an explosive, string-drenched finale. His live performance of this song on SNL is mindblowing (video)!
The up-tempo, very '80s disco-ish "Restart" (video; lyrics) is followed by "Latch" (video; lyrics), an acoustic version of the Disclosure song that was their breakthrough hit in 2013 and on which Sam was guest-vocalist. Then he closes the album with the Naughty Boy’s number one infectious summer hit "La La La" (video; lyrics) on which Sam was also a collaborative vocalist and "Make It To Me" (video; lyrics), a powerful piano-ballad about looking for a soul-mate: “You’re the one designed for me, A distant stranger that I will complete.”
This debut-album is filled with the kind of pop that is likely to dominate the charts for a while, as these tracks will appeal to a wide range of music lovers. Fully recommended!
It was a difficult to decide which of the songs I would feature, but I decided to go with two different songs. The first song is the one that he performed this morning and instantly made me a fan: "I'm Not the Only One" (lyrics).
The second song had me in tears when I heard it because it's my life story: "Not in That Way" (lyrics).
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